The B.C. NDP’s agriculture and lands critic believes the gap at the top of her party provides an opening for her to demand that the next party leader protect the Agricultural Land Reserve.

“My background is around farming and sustainability, so I want to see a leader who can present a credible argument for keeping that strong in British Columbia,” Lana Popham, the MLA for Saanich South since 2009, said in a sit-down interview in theGeorgia Straight offices. “So I want someone who will stand up strongly for the ALR. As the NDP, we have that in our back pocket as something that we brought in, but we need to do a lot more work around making it news and making it important.”

Popham was one of the 13 MLAs who called for a leadership contest to replace NDP Leader Carole James, who announced her resignation earlier this month. However, Popham said she is “absolutely not interested” in running to replace James next spring when the party chooses its new leader.

Instead, Popham said she wants to offer her view that the next party leader “present a clear sustainability message”. Popham, a successful small-scale organic farmer, said this is “very related to agriculture and our domestic economy”.

“I think that food security has the potential to be a very big economic driver here in B.C., because we’re set up for it as far as our growing potential goes,” she added.

Ideally, Popham said, B.C.’s government should position itself to facilitate a new generation of farmers, including “more localized smaller-lot farms, sustainable farming”, which she claimed is “really what the consumer is interested in, and we have 4.5 million consumers in B.C.”

One factor driving how local farming will develop in B.C. is peak oil, Popham claimed. Peak oil refers to the point when world oil production peaks, after which either the price rises exponentially to reflect plummeting supplies, or the demand drops to keep prices stable.

“Do I think we’ve reached it? I think we need to live like we have, because even if we haven’t at this moment, I don’t believe that it’s very far off,” Popham said.

There is a crisis right now on Vancouver Island: about 90% of the honey bees on the island disappeared last winter! We aren't sure why, but the provincial government is making the situation worse by failing to investigate what's happening and allowing people - for the first time in 22 years - to import honey bees from the mainland.

Kudos to Greg Horne for making this documentary! Watch it and you'll know why island bee-keepers swarmed the BC Legislature this fall...and why it is so important that we protect our precious island pollinators.

I also want to acknowledge the resolution adopted at the recent BC Honey Producers' Association AGM:

The BC Honey Producers' Association [shall] send a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands stating that we have lost confidence with the Apiculture Program and are seeking change, with more consultation, to enhance communication and increase the sustainability of beekeeping in British Columbia.

Please take a moment to support my efforts to persuade the Ministry of Agriculture to address this serious situation: click here.

Students and residents of the Columbia Valley had a special visitor when MLA for Saanich South and NDP critic for Agriculture and Lands, Lana Popham came to the area.

Popham was elected MLA for Saanich South on May 12, 2009 and is a well-known environmental and community activist, businesswoman and organic farmer.

Popham was on her first visit to the area and took the time to learn more about concerns locals have in the agricultural industry.

“I have not had the opportunity to come into this area and see what is going on agriculturally. I am very committed to sustainability. This area is amazing for what it is doing. I tour many towns that have the vision but the action here takes my breath away,” Popham said.

Popham started her tour in Cranbrook before moving on to Kimberley where she met with some local ranchers.

She then came north to Invermere to visit farmers who are involved with aspects of agriculture that are close to the MLA’s heart.

“They are doing things in a similar setup to what I used to do and it made me want to get out there and help them because I missed it so much,” Popham said.

Popham said she has heard that some people feel that there are fewer new farmers but she is of the belief that people do want to become involved with the industry but they want to do it in a new style that is concerned about sustainability and local food.

“This is a teachable moment where consumers are begging for local food and we have people who want to produce it. The problem is that we do not have the provincial support in agriculture right now to make it easier to do that,” Popham said.

When looking at the future of agriculture in British Columbia Popham had some ideas on what could be done by the government to help.

“We had a great program up to eight years ago. It was a buy BC program. Farmers want our products to be marketed to us. They want to have labelling so we know where products are from. It was very successful.

"The Ministry of Agriculture is so ill-funded right now that there is no money for that but it is hard for me to understand why we would not invest in a program that is going to give some strength to our domestic economy,” Popham said.

Another idea that the MLA has involves looking at the way the food in B.C. is being distributed and the possibility of better using the rail-system to move food throughout the province.

As Popham continues to talk to people in B.C. about the issues surrounding agriculture in the province she is working on a document to highlight both the issues and ideas on how to make the industry more efficient.

While in Invermere Popham stopped in to talk to students at David Thompson Secondary School (DTSS) and see some of the programs which involve food at the school.

“The greenhouse and the chefs' program were the attraction. Connecting kids to food is critical right now. We are seeing skyrocketing Type 2 diabetes in kids and that is related to what they are eating. We are feeding them sugar-laced, fat-ladened, highly processed food. That has to raise alarm bells,” Popham said. She added that she was very impressed with the chefs' program and the food that they are making.

She also passed on a great deal of credit to the teachers at DTSS who are responsible for helping students in their lives.

In the end Popham said she was grateful to have had the chance to visit the area and for all the hospitality shown to her during her trip.

From food security to renewable energy - here are some pictures of amazing British Columbians doing the hard work to plan for the future! I was on agriculture tour of the area this week and was really impressed! Click to the right to see the photo album.

One of the highlights of the tour was learning about successful efforts to connect kids to healthy local food. There is a Chef's programme in Invermere bringing good food back into the school system. I was even treated to a lovely lunch with freshly harvested salad greens from the school greenhouse. Here is a recipe of the (delicious!) tofu burritos we had for lunch.

In this first class of the series, Pat Germschied will take us back to the beginning when Canada was being settled. She will teach the art of preserving and “putting by” the produce and fruit from our gardens. Time 1:30 – 3:30 m. Cost $35 with lunch

October 17th.

“The Art of Chinese Cuisine”

Li Ping, originally from China will take us on a culinary journey to China as she creates her countries cuisine in this first series. Time 1:30 – 3:30 pm Cost, $35 with lunch

October 24th,

The Art of Coast Salish Native Cuisine”

Using her Native culture as her guide, Gloria Norris, will teach the art of preparing and smoking a salmon. Time 1:30 – 3:30 pm. Cost $35 with lunch

November 7th.

“Art of Canadian Heritage Cuisine”

In this second series Pat Germschied will teach the art of making soups and stews.

Land managers, stakeholders, interested organizations and landowners are invited to attend a meeting in Sechelt on Thursday October 28th. The objectives of this meeting are to: increase awareness of invasive plant issues and coordinated management approaches along the Sunshine Coast, share information about invasive plant activities already occurring in region, discuss areas for improvement and identify the level of interest in joining with or forming a regional invasive plant committee.

Where: Seaside Centre 5790 Teredo Street, Sechelt

When: 9:30am - 3:30pm on Thursday October 28th (refreshments and lunch to be provided)

The Islands Agri-Food Initiative (IAFI) was started in 2001, to encourage the development of a viable and sustainable agri-food sector on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and Powell River. Funding is available to groups, societies and organizations based in the areas served by the initiative for projects that fit at least one of the initiative’s four strategic priorities:

1. To enhance market and product development and promotion of the agri-food industry.

A majority of our 2010 Conference Presentations are now available on our website under Events and News

VEGGIE, POULTRY AND SMALL ANIMAL SWAP that has started up at the Lighthouse Community Center on Lions Way in Qualicum Bay. There is an indoor swap meet and Pancake Breakfast from 9am - 1pm and an outdoor farmers market (including live poultry) that runs from 10am till 1pm. The contact person is Sheena McCorquodale 250-757-9991

Ranchers hope the B.C. government will help assist them with forage and fence rehabilitation in the aftermath of the forest fires in the Cariboo Chilcotin.

Ranchers met with Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson and MLA Lana Popham, the Opposition critic for the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, last week to discuss the help they need.

Duncan Barnett, president of the Cariboo Cattlemen’s Association, says one of the biggest issues is forage and fence rehabilitation.

“Without those fences, ranchers have no ability to manage their livestock,” Duncan says, adding that not only does a loss of fencing cause herds to mix with each other, but it also causes forage issues. “You can’t manage the livestock so they use the forage properly.”

He says ranchers want the provincial government to help get the fences rebuilt, otherwise ranching businesses will be put at risk.

“They’ve lost a lot of their fall forage this year,” he says, adding that unless fences are replaced for next year, ranchers will face major problems.

He says there is emergency response funding in place, but it’s not yet known if the funding can be used to help the ranchers replace the lost fences.

“We basically have businesses that have lost the infrastructure that they need to operate, and if we can’t get it replaced, then obviously those businesses are in serious trouble.”

He says the government needs to either provide some funding to rebuild the range infrastructure that’s been lost or emergency/disaster relief funding needs to be used.

Ranchers are also dealing with lost forage that was burnt up in the forest fires. Not only does the grass need to be re-seeded so there is forage supply, but also so invasive weeds don’t move in.

Ranchers also have a number of suggestions for the future, he says, including using local people who can provide equipment and their knowledge of the area and dealing with fires when they start. Barnett says ranchers and the ministries of forest and environment also need to work together to ensure ecologically sound seeds that also suit the natural environment are planted.

Cariboo Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett attended a meeting two weeks ago in Alexis Creek, where she met with ranchers to hear their concerns about the devastation caused from the fires.

“We are working on the analysis on what has happened to the fencing, the cattle, to the grasslands, all of those types of things,” she says. “We are working with the communities on a mitigation plan.”

She says she also went on a two- to three-hour tour to see the devastation for herself, and has also met with individuals throughout the Cariboo Chilcotin to discuss the forest fires and other issues.

Simpson and Popham, who had also met with the Ministry of Forests and Range in Williams Lake, said they will discuss the issues with the Minister of Agriculture.

“We heard (from ranchers) that the Minister of Agriculture needs to champion this,” Popham said. “We can make a push for that.”

Simpson said the loss of forage could be the last straw for ranchers already suffering challenges to the industry.

Alexis Creek resident and rancher Bev Madley is the president of the Chilcotin Stockmen’s Association, an organization that falls under the Cariboo Cattlemen’s Association.

“Out here, there were seven members of our association that were affected by the wildfires,” Madley says. “In the run of all of these fires, we lost a lot of fence.”

She says the government has agreed to reseed and rehabilitate the CAT guards that were built on the ranges in the Bull Complex area.

She says the ranchers also want the fences replaced, soon.

“These are boundaries between people with different breeding programs,” she says, adding the fences also provide barriers between pastures that are rotated to keep the range in good condition.

She notes the firefighters did a good job, but says the management of the fires could have been done differently.

“Those fires were allowed to run, and they didn’t get anybody on them to put them out until they became quite large and quite dangerous and somewhat unmanageable,” she says.

If and when money is provided to replace the fences, she says ranches would like them built on large right-of-ways so there is exposed soil that would serve as fire breaks.

A meeting between the ranchers and government field officials was to be held at Madley’s home last night, after press deadlines.

A new report from the Auditor General shows how the B.C. government is undermining the Agricultural Land Reserve and leaving B.C.’s valuable farmland at risk of being lost forever.

As we face an increasing population and the impact of climate change, it is more important than ever to promote local food production and develop the green jobs that our agricultural sector has to offer.

But instead of listening to British Columbians who are saying they want to see more local food in their grocery stores, this report shows the B.C. Liberals have been undermining the Agricultural Land Reserve.

Graph from Report

The report notes despite the fact that 95 per cent of British Columbians support the ALR, the amount of agricultural land in the ALR on the south coast has declined by eight per cent and the amount of agricultural land in the ALR on Vancouver Island has declined by 13 per cent since the reserve was created by the then-New Democrat government in 1973.

Less than five per cent of British Columbia’s land base is suitable for agriculture, which is why we must protect the farmland we have, especially in the face of an increasing population and a changing climate,” said Popham. “British Columbians want access to fresh food from local farmers. It’s time for the B.C. Liberal government to listen up and stop undermining the ALR.

The Auditor General’s report also notes that the B.C. Liberals have cut the budget for the Agricultural Land Commission by more than 28 percent since 2002.

The commission doesn’t have the resources it needs to ensure it fulfills its mandate of preserving productive farmland, let alone the staff to dedicate to enforcement and evaluation of the hundreds of applications that come to the commission every year.

If protecting our agricultural resources was important to the B.C. Liberals, they’d start by ensuring the commission had the resources it needs to protect the ALR.

Hi, my name is Lana Popham, I’m the Agriculture Critic and the MLA for Saanich South.

Before I was elected, I worked on my farm for over a decade…while at the same time fighting for food security and sustainable food production.

I left a job that I loved and that inspired me every day to enter provincial politics and to take on the role as Agriculture Critic. A job that disappoints me every day…because I don’t understand why we have to fight for farming in British Columbia.

Building capacity for vehicles at all costs will never stop unless we stop doing it. Our quality of life will continue to decrease as we increase the capacity for vehicles. To remove productive agricultural land to make room for cars is unacceptable.

The ALR was put in place to protect our food growing capacity. Without it we would see little to no farming in this area [Langley] and we wouldn’t be here tonight fighting for the Hudson’s Bay Farm. Because it wouldn’t exist.

Why was this land so important back when the ALR was created but not now? It’s because the creators of the ALR - like Harold Steves - looked at our future with unselfish eyes. Agriculture has seen the lowest level ever in BC history in the past provincial budget. And that includes the budget for the ALC.

Agriculture and food production are the lowest priority for the BC government and vehicles and carbon-emitting modes of transportation are one of the highest. With this equation, It’s hard to see when these types of proposals will stop.

At a time when we know climate change will affect our ability to source food, we don’t have a made-in-BC food security plan. We seem to be setting ourselves up to be absolutely dependent on imported goods. Why? We have so much potential. The BC food self-sufficiency study that the government produced – showing that we need to increase our food producing capacity – was shelved. We have a BC Agriculture Plan, but we can’t use it because the Ministry is under-funded.

Without a plan, will we end up developing every last acre of farmland? Decisions like the one that is before us tonight, the decision to split up this valuable farm, has far-reaching implications that must be seriously considered. We have a responsibility to our future generations to ensure that we have food security in this region and Hudson’s Bay Farm is part of the solution.

We need to look at these problems with the same eyes that the creator of the ALR used. I want the ALC to fulfill its mandate to preserve farmland and not to take away our ability to feed ourselves.

My final point is a question: what is the end-game? What is the final outcome that we expect from chopping up farmland to make room for vehicles?

It is about our future survival or is it about a short-sighted plan that is unsustainable and irreversible.

Hundreds of people up and down Vancouver Island are speaking out about... bees!

As you know, bees are pollinators and without pollinators a third of our food plants can’t reproduce naturally.

There is a crisis right now on Vancouver Island: last year, 90% of the honey-bees on the island died. We aren't sure why, but the provincial government is making the situation worse by a recent change which allows people to import hives from the mainland. There had been a 22-year old quarantine in effect which protected us from the even worse situation (diseases and pests) facing bee-keepers off the island. But that has been lifted in error and we now need your help before the situation gets any worse.

Almost every single bee-keeper on the island agrees that the Agriculture Minister's actions are worsening the situation for honey-bees on the island. You can read many of their comments by clicking here.

Please help by taking a few minutes to write a letter to your Mayor and Council. This is, in part, an island issue, and so we need our municipal leaders to take action.

Thank you,

Lana.

Quick Letter Writing Tips and Info
1. Find the mailing address for your Mayor. Click here for an up-to-date list of Mayors on Vancouver Island.(Note: the Mayor from Metchosin has already written an excellent letter.)
2. Address your letter to ‘Mayor and Council’.
3. Include a little personal information so they understand why this is important to you.
4. A very modest improvement would include a Motion asking the B.C. government to immediately halt the importation of used bee-keeping equipment and/or honeycomb.

If you want to be fancy, you can even take the time to c.c. the BC Minister of Agriculture, Steve Thomson. PO BOX 9120 STN PROV GOVT, Victoria, BC, V8W 9E2

David Hull couldn’t quite believe the numbers the computer spreadsheet was producing as he and Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce staff were punching in results from their survey on the economic impact of agriculture to Abbotsford.

“Hang on, hang on,” said the astonished executive director.

The survey, conducted jointly with the city and the provincial Ministry of Agriculture, said the industry generates $1.8 billion in economic activity annually in Abbotsford.

“It was a lot larger than we thought,” said Hull. “That’s a massive number in our town.”

And there were more impressive numbers:

The $1.8 billion is about 35 per cent of the city’s gross domestic product.

Primary agriculture produces in total revenues $20,400 per hectare, the highest in Canada, and three times more than that of the next most productive region, the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario.

Agriculture generates more than 11,300 jobs in Abbotsford, which is about 25 per cent of local private-sector jobs.

The average hourly wage per farm employee is $16.75, while the average annual salary in the agri-business is nearly $50,000.

There are more than 1,200 farms in Abbotsford

Hull said the city is the de facto hub of agriculture in the province. It’s more than just getting milk, picking berries and raising chickens because there are so many industries, industry organizations and government offices connected to agriculture that are based in Abbotsford.

The city is currently working on producing an agriculture strategy to help the industry grow even further.

“It does represent the very essence of what we do,” Jay Teichrob, the city’s economic development manager, told a chamber agriculture symposium Wednesday. “It drives the work in our city on a daily basis. It’s in our DNA.”

It’s why, Teichrob said, there’s a concentration on densifying the city core at the same time as protecting the 74 per cent of the land that’s inside the Agriculture Land Reserve.

“We want to be a sustainable community. We don’t want to be a bedroom community to anyone else,” said Teichrob.

Today in the Legislature I made a two minute statement about the `Day of the Honeybee`.

As you know, the government recently ended a twenty-two year old quarantine on importing bees from the mainland, and did so without consulting local bee-keeping communities and associations.

During Question Period, I raised the issue directly with the Minister responsible, asking him to pull back from this short-sighted decision and provide the protections our island honey bees desperately need.

HANSARD: ROLE OF HONEYBEES IN AGRICULTURE
L. Popham: May 29 has been proclaimed the Day of the Honeybee in British Columbia. Honeybees are a big part of our pollinator population and play a critical role in the production of many B.C. crops. In fact, much of B.C.'s agricultural production is dependent on honeybee pollination. Without them, our food systems will fail.

Our proclamation was signed recently, and within our proclamation, the virtues of B.C. bees as well as the threats they face were brought to light:

"Whereas the honeybee has, through its role as pollinator, been an important part of agricultural efforts since ancient times; and whereas the honeybee plays an essential role in the success of agricultural enterprises in British Columbia; and whereas the honeybee has been under serious threat due to disease and environmental conditions that ultimately threaten the future of agriculture in our province; and whereas the government of British Columbia has worked with the agriculture industry to improve production and the honeybee has been under serious threat due to disease and environmental conditions that ultimately threaten the future of agriculture in our province. Whereas the government of British Columbia has worked with the agriculture industry to improve production and stabilize the industry. Whereas it is in the interest of furthering that goal to raise awareness of the role of the honeybee and the plight it faces."

In early May, a 22-year-old policy restricting the importation of bees to Vancouver Island was lifted. This significant decision is of grave concern to the Vancouver Island bee-keeping sector. Bee keepers are especially concerned because last winter on Vancouver Island almost 90 percent of honeybees died, largely because of the varroa mite which was introduced to island hives when an individual contravened our island quarantine.

I am wondering, given recent decisions, if the day of the honeybee will become a day of memorial for honeybees on Vancouver Island in our near future.

HANSARD: TRANSCRIPT FROM QUESTION PERIOD
L. Popham: Beekeepers on Vancouver Island are reeling from a recent decision to change the policy around the import of bees to Vancouver Island from the mainland — a policy that has been in place for 22 years. This was done without consultation, and the results may be devastating to our bee industry. The test results, which were the basis for the government to lift the quarantine, are not being made public.

Will the Minister of Agriculture commit today to listen to all island beekeepers and ensure that there will be no honeycomb and no used equipment brought onto the Island from the Lower Mainland?

Hon. S. Thomson: The member opposite is aware that we've equalized the restriction for imported bees onto Vancouver Island with federal standards. Vancouver Island beekeepers were able to import bees from Australia and from Chile before. We've equalized those standards with federal standards so that they can import bees from the Lower Mainland, providing those opportunities for the Vancouver Island bee producers.

I'm fully aware of the concerns of Vancouver Island. The member opposite knows that I've met with the presidents of the associations. For bees to come onto Vancouver Island, they require inspection, and they require a permit. We've committed to continue to work with the associations to make sure the inspection protocols are in place so that we can protect the health of the Vancouver Island bee population.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

L. Popham: I understand that the minister has met with the local Island bee clubs, and so have I. It's not the bees that are a problem and that they're worried about. They're worried about the honeycomb and the used equipment. The minister has been claiming that there is science to back up the decision that was made. If he believes this is true, then there should be nothing to hide. Will he commit today to release the provincial test results to the Island beekeepers?

Hon. S. Thomson: I have met with the presidents of the associations, and I've committed to continue to meet with them. As I said, it requires inspection. It requires permit for bees to come on to Vancouver Island. We're going to continue to work with the associations around the inspection protocols to make sure that we protect the health of the Vancouver Island bee population.

Coming from the agriculture industry, I understand the importance of the bee industry to both the agriculture industry and to value-added production for small-scale farms on Vancouver Island and in British Columbia. We'll continue to work with the association to make sure that those inspection protocols and those permits are in place to protect the health of the Vancouver Island bee population.

The provincial government is making it easier for farmers in remote communities to sell meat at the farm gate, while those in the Fraser Valley must continue to find innovative ways to sell direct to consumers.

Recent changes to B.C.'s meat-inspection regulations now allow farmers in three remote regions — Bella Coola, Haida Gwaii and the Powell River Regional District — to obtain a licence to kill a limited number of livestock on site and then sell them to consumers in their region.

Elsewhere in the province, animals must be sent to a government-inspected slaughterhouse.

The new rules have met with both relief and criticism in an industry still struggling to deal with changes brought on by the mad-cow crisis.

The former executive chef left Vancouver to homestead near Fort St. John several years ago. When the mad-cow crisis led the province to require all meat for human consumption to go through a licensed slaughterhouse, he responded with B.C.'s first mobile abattoir.

The $400,000 machine is designed to travel to remote regions, giving farmers a butchering option that doesn't involve driving hours to the nearest facility. An on-site inspector ensures food safety.

"We've spent the money to build this, to respond to what the government said farmers needed, and now we're going to be left with egg on our faces," said Jongerdon. "You can't have one set of rules for one person and another set of rules for another."

Farmers in northern B.C. also continue to feel the effects of the changing regulations. Some have formed co-operatives, sinking hundreds of thousands of dollars into abattoirs and meat-processing plants that only operate a few times a year and continue to accumulate debt. A clause in the new regulations says farmers within 100 kilometres of a licensed slaughterhouse or mobile abattoir can't receive a licence to do their own butchering.

NDP agriculture critic Lana Popham said the government's "mishandling" of the regulations has led to turmoil in the industry, pitting producers against processors.

"The regulations have failed in all aspects," she said Wednesday. "The government says this ensures food safety, but we don't see people getting sick from farm-gate sales."

Popham urged the government to take advantage of a consumer demand for local products.

"That's what's going to make or break agriculture in this province and we should be embracing it."

Ida Chong, Minister of Healthy Living and Sport, said the licences will protect food safety while adding stability for licensed facilities, with ticketing by local health authorities to ensure farmers' compliance.

"The province is recognizing the importance of existing provincially licensed facilities and the investment they have made to comply with the regulation," she said in a statement.

Queen Charlotte Islands veterinarian and rancher Don Richardson called the new regulations "a breath of fresh air." Since the government began requiring animals to be killed at licensed facilities, he's had to make a 20-hour trip, including a ferry crossing, to bring his cows to the nearest slaughterhouse.

"It's a ridiculous amount of cost and time," he said.

In the Fraser Valley, farmers don't have to make a long trip to have their animals killed.

Chilliwack organic farmer Mary Forstbauer sells her meat at farmers' markets after it's returned from a nearby slaughterhouse. While she supports the new regulations for farmers in remote regions, she's content to bring her animals to a government-inspected facility.

"It's close by, so it's not a real hardship," she said.

"I don't know that we should relax the rules all over. Some of the people we meet at the farmers' markets want to know that their meat has gone through a facility."

Be it resolved that this House debate and discuss a made in BC food security and production plan.

What is a food security plan? A food security plan refers to the availability of food, one's access to it and a comprehensive plan to make sure these things are addressed. The necessity of having such a plan is becoming more crucial year by year, as we understand the effects of climate change on agricultural capacity around the world.

In B.C. we have been neglecting our food security plan because we have had easy access to imported food. As a result, up to this point we have almost abandoned our potential for self-sufficiency. We are becoming more and more reliant on imports.

The places we are importing from are regions that will be first affected by the devastating impacts of climate change. In fact, we see this happening already. We see California facing water shortages, the salinity issue. We see Florida wrestling with temperature fluctuations that destroy their crops. In other areas of the world we are seeing extreme weather as well.

B.C. is not immune to climate change effects, but we have resilience, given our diverse topographies. This doesn't mean, however, that we have the luxury of sitting back and doing nothing. We should be taking the time to develop a made-in-B.C. food security and production plan.

The government released a study in 2006 calledB.C.'s Food Self-Reliance. The goal of this study was to get a perspective on total food production and food self-reliance using farm-gate production values. There was an interesting disclaimer at the beginning of this report which states that this "report is an information piece and does not necessarily represent current or future policy direction."

It continues to establish that "the statistical data in the report is factual and will be used to develop benchmarks for further research and study." This disclaimer is relevant to my motion, because there is information in this report that leads me to question why the B.C. government is not fully committed to making sure B.C. has a food security plan in place.

Sustainable B.C. is a vision of our province. As B.C. politicians, we need to be dedicated to building a sustainable society that nurtures us, and food security is a large part of that vision. Healthful food for consumers and increased local and provincial food self-sufficiency are essential for a sustainable society. This requires a protected agricultural land base, environmentally sustainable farm practices and economic viability for B.C. food producers.

To produce a healthy diet for the projected B.C. population in 2025, B.C. farmers will need to have 2.78 million hectares in production, of which 281,000 will need access to irrigation. This means that to produce a healthy diet for B.C. in 2025, given existing production technology, the farmland with access to irrigation will have to increase by 92,000 hectares, or 49 percent over the 2005 levels. That's one of the undisputed facts from the report that this government released.

Where should we look for leadership, and what ministry should we work with in order to make a food security plan a reality here in B.C.? We could look at our communities, we could look at our grass-roots organizations, and we could look at our consumers for leadership. They are demanding more priority be put on local food production.

It seems we cannot look at the current government. This government fails to make food production a priority, even though they commissioned a study to prove it was critical for British Columbia. The budget for agriculture in B.C. has dropped year after year, and it's at a level now that I believe makes the Ministry of Agriculture ineffective. When we look at a massive decision in our province that we are facing right now — all decisions — we need to continually visit our food security situation as a province. A decision to take away most fertile land at a time when the facts tell us we need to add to our land base works against the idea of food security.

When will food security be a priority? Sadly, food security around the world becomes important when food supplies are not secure and access to food is threatened. The B.C. government has an opportunity to plan for our future, and this should be a future where food security is not in doubt. We need a made-in-B.C. food security plan right now.

Lana Popham, Incumbent & Candidate for Saanich South MLA

Welcome!

I've worked hard as the Official Opposition Critic for Agriculture over the last four years. This blog was created to help track my work so interested folks can see what I'm up to.

I'm not able to update it as often as I would like but it will give you a good sampling of my work.

During the dissolution of the BC Legislature (April 16 - June 5, 2013) this site will be shut down. Some content may remain visible as part of the public record of my past work but other content will be unvailable and/or links may be broken.

You can reach me at info@lanapopham.ca or visit my website at lanapopham.ca.